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Dunlap resigns to join Nuggets

Pat Rooney, Special to the News

Published August 23, 2006 at midnight

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Mike Dunlap has made his first step in the long journey across the street, where the lure of the NBA awaits and the legacy of one of the most dominant programs in NCAA Division II basketball during the past decade will be left behind.

In a move expected for days, Dunlap resigned as the basketball coach at Metro State College on Tuesday, paving the way for his pending hiring by the Nuggets as an assistant on George Karl's staff.

Metro State athletic director Joan McDermott appointed assistant Brannon Hays, a longtime pupil of Dunlap's, as the Roadrunners interim coach.

"It should make for a nice, smooth, easy transition," McDermott said. "Brannon has proven he can win and that he can win in our conference."

While the Nuggets still have not made a formal announcement about Dunlap, his resignation makes it only a matter of time before he sets up a new office at the Pepsi Center. Dunlap said he expects to sign a contract by Thursday and that it has been the "easiest" contract negotiations he has been involved in.

Dunlap long has been coveted by Division I programs after turning Metro State into a national powerhouse.

Metro State went 13-13 in 1996-97, one year before Dunlap arrived. He immediately made winners out of the Roadrunners, who went 25-5 in Dunlap's first season and reached the Division II national championship game in 1999.

The Roadrunners won their first national championship in 2000 and added another in 2002 before returning to the Final Four in 2004.

Under Dunlap, Metro State won the regular-season title in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference four times and won the RMAC tournament six times. Dunlap went 248-50 at Metro State and led the Roadrunners to the NCAA tournament in each of his nine seasons.

Dunlap was courted almost annually but chose to remain at Metro State, deciding the offers were not as appealing as the situation he had .

That changed once Karl and the Nuggets gave Dunlap a shout from across the street.

"This was a little out of the blue, and the NBA really wasn't on my mind," Dunlap said. "I don't have a lot of trepidation about switching chairs, but my learning curve is going to be huge. I have a lot of studying to do. I'm excited about learning again in a different environment. The opportunity to educate myself again is second to none now."

Hays is no stranger to Metro State, the RMAC or Dunlap's system, which should aid the transition of a team that went 21-10 last season. He played for Dunlap at Cal Lutheran and later served there as an assistant under Dunlap.

Hays spent three seasons as an assistant at Metro State before landing the coaching job at Colorado Christian. He produced perhaps an even more impressive turnaround than Dunlap's, leading a moribund Cougars program to 19-9 seasons in 2003-04 and 2004-05.

Hays returned to Metro State last year and served as Dunlap's top assistant. Hays indicated the interim tag is more about the restrictions and policies of making a major hire at a state school at this time of year, but he also said he is not looking past this upcoming season.

"These are big shoes to step in to," Hays said. "He's been a mentor and a friend and has taught me everything I know. I think with change there is always a transition, and we are trying to make it as seamless as possible."